1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates generally to devices and methods for making plant extracts. More particularly, this invention pertains to an apparatus and process for manufacture of a plant extract useful in homeopathic medicine, hair and skin treatments, and cosmetics and perfumes.
2. State of the Prior Art
Dr. Edward Bach was a medical physician who developed a group of healing flower and herb essences between the years 1928 and 1935. He administered these plant essences to produce subtle but powerful benevolent forces which raised the xe2x80x9cvibrational frequencyxe2x80x9d of an ill person to a higher level; thus, enhancing the natural resistance to overcome the lower xe2x80x9cvibrational frequenciesxe2x80x9d associated with disease.
Bach extracted plants using historical methods by making either a sun infusion of cut flowers or buds in water or by boiling cut flowers or buds (a decoction). However, specific extraction techniques (e.g., great attention to not touching the cut flowers or the extract they make), and formulation into a high dilution of the plant extract to achieve homeopathic type effects have become regarded as distinctly his. The Bach method of producing flower remedies has been adopted internationally, and is in use commercially by approximately sixty companies worldwide. Bach flower remedies have over the counter (OTC) drug status in the United States since they are included in the U.S. homeopathic pharmacopoeia. They are also officially recognized in the homeopathic pharmacopoeias of many other developed countries.
Bach""s Sun Infusion Method for Extracting Flowers
A thin, plain glass or crystal bowl (about one-half pint capacity, not cut glass or oven glass), a jug (glass or china), and a one ounce dropper bottle should be sterilized by placing them in cold water in a saucepan which is brought to a boil, boiled for twenty minutes, cooled, and then dried carefully. The bowl and jug are wrapped in a clean cloth. When cooled, the one ounce bottle is filled about halfway with brandy, capped, and labeled with the name of the extraction to be prepared and the word xe2x80x9cTincturexe2x80x9d.
A field or hilltop where the plants, trees or bushes are growing, is pre-selected for the extraction procedure which is carried out on a cloudless sunny morning. Before 9 a.m., the bowl is placed on the ground near the flowering plants, away from any tall plants or structure which might cast a shadow over the bowl as the sun travels across the sky. The bowl is filled to the brim with water from a nearby clear pure stream, or from a bottle, sterilized as described above, and filled with spring or mineral water which is carried to the site.
A broad leaf is placed on the palm of the hand and then the flower heads or the flowering spikes, are picked or cut from as many plants or bushes of the same kind as possible. The flower heads are picked just below the calyx, or flowering spikes. The picked or cut flowers are quickly floated on the surface of the water in the bowl. This process is repeated until the whole surface of the water is thickly covered, with overlapping flowers, but wherein each flower touches the water. During this process, casting a shadow over the bowl and touching the water with the fingers is avoided.
The bowl is left in full sunshine for three hours. At the end of this time and with a stalk from the plant being extracted, the flowers are removed. Again, touching the water with the fingers is avoided. The now vitalized water is poured into the jug and into the remaining half of the labeled dropper bottle containing the brandy which now constitutes the Tincture. If the Tincture is kept for several years, a slight sediment may form at the bottom of the bottle, this is not harmful. The liquid can be filtered into another sterilized bottle and labeled with a duplicate label.
The Tincture will retain its strength indefinitely, and is the one from which stock bottles are prepared. The stock bottle is the second stage in the preparation of the remedy and it is from this that the treatment bottle is made up. To prepare a stock bottle, a sterilized one ounce dropper bottle is filled with brandy. Two drops from the Tincture bottle of the remedy are placed into the stock bottle. The cap is fastened securely and the bottle is labeled with the name of the remedy and xe2x80x9cstockxe2x80x9d.
The treatment bottle is the third stage in the preparation and it is from this that the required daily doses are taken. After deciding which remedy or combination of remedies are required, two drops from each remedy stock bottle are placed into a sterilized one ounce dropper bottle (the treatment bottle). The remainder of the bottle is filled with pure spring or mineral water (available in bottles from most supermarkets or health stores), and a teaspoon of brandy is added to help preserve the water if it is likely to be subjected to a warm environment. The cap is fastened securely and the bottle is labeled with the name(s) of the remedy(s) and xe2x80x9ctreatmentxe2x80x9d.
Cut Flower Extractions as Conditioners and Cosmetic Additives
Extractions of numerous cut flowers and ground plants are commonly utilized as conditioners and additives, such as for hair treatments including shampoos, hair conditioners, gels, etc. and in cosmetics, such as for the face, eyes, hands, feet, and other areas. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,618 to Grollier et al. describes utilization of cut flowers and ground plant extracts for these purposes. In particular, this patent pays close attention to making sure that the flower or plant part is pulverized until a granulometry lower than 125 microns is obtained. Additional shampoo preparation with extracts of birch and rosemary are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,168 to Abe et al., incorporated herein by reference. This shampoo is described to impart good hair style retention and good feeling of touch.
However, homeopathic physicians, their patients, and numerous other people desire flower and plant extracts that are manufactured according to less extreme conditions. The Sun Extraction Method developed by Bach and generally described above, is one such method, but the inventor has discovered a method and an apparatus for an even less destructive method for manufacturing a plant extract.
The present invention includes an apparatus and a method for manufacture of flower and plant extracts wherein the extract is manufactured in situ from living, uncut plants. The apparatus and method can be used on any above ground component of any living plant including, but not limited to: blooms, buds, leaves, stalks, seeds, berries, and aerial roots. Damage to extracts manufactured as described in the present invention is kept to a minimum and the potency of each extract is maximized. Without being bound by mechanism or theory, in certain embodiments, the extract manufactured as described in the present invention includes a vital energy of the plant. This vital energy is obtained in a more potent form (and in certain embodiments, a virtually optimal therapeutically potent form) than heretofore due to the fact that the plant is living and uncut while the vital energy is being extracted from the plant. The inventor hence posits that the plant transmits a greater potency to the extracting medium than could be achieved by the Bach and similar methods in which the flower or bud is cut off from the mother plant.
An object of the present invention is to manufacture an extract of a flower, or other component of any living plant, with minimal damage to the extract, and in certain embodiments, with minimal disruption of a vital energy being transmitted to the extract. It is preferred that minimal damage is done to the flower or plant and that the plant can continue its natural lifecycle while being extracted. Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus designed to collect an extract of a flower, or other component of any living plant, with minimal damage to the extract, and preferably the flower or other plant component being extracted, and in certain embodiments, with minimal disruption of a vital energy being transmitted to an extract solution. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a kit for collecting an extract of a flower, or other component of any plant, with minimal damage to the extract and preferably without damaging the flower or other component.
Accordingly, the present invention describes methods whereby a flower, or other above ground component of any plant, is extracted while the flower or other component is living, fully intact, and attached to the living plant. It is preferred that the living plant is not uprooted and it should not be uprooted during the extraction process. In certain embodiments, at least a portion of the flower or other component of the living plant is contacted by an extraction solution for a period of time. The plant essence is taken up by the extraction solution.
The present invention also describes an apparatus for holding the extraction solution proximate to the flower, or other component of the plant, during the extraction process. In certain embodiments, the apparatus comprises a vessel having a bowl shaped chamber for holding the extraction solution proximate to the plant component. In certain embodiments, the apparatus comprises a vessel having a substantially U-shaped bottom; an opening above the U-shaped bottom; a chamber wall having an inner chamber wall, an outer chamber wall, and a chamber wall edge; and a slot in the chamber wall extending from a point on the chamber wall edge to an interior point on the chamber wall.
In certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, a method of extraction is described wherein a stem of a plant is passed through the slot in the extraction vessel, the vessel is positioned such that when the extraction solution is added it contacts the component of the plant for which extraction is desired, the slot is sealed by any method that generates a watertight seal including around the stem of the plant, and the extraction solution is added to the desired level. A highly preferred sealant is beeswax.